Wildlife Photo Competition 1 2014 : Judges Critiques : Page

Well this is a tricky one to succeed but you have had a good shot at it. I would say your pan shot is slightly too long. This does give a nice moving effect to the grass but the young ibex has become too blurry – the sharp bit isn’t unfortunately on its face. A shorter shutter speed would have sorted that out whilst keeping the grass blurry enough. You have gone on to boost the contrast to compensate for the blur which has worked to a certain extent…

Giraffes make fantastic silhouettes, especially beside some savannah trees. The clouds are nice too, it was a good idea framing them so much, they add to the scene. It is always tricky shooting into the sun because of the inevitable flair, shame you haven’t tidied that up a little. You could pretty easily remove that flare with a photo program.

It is the low angle through the grasses which makes this work so well, the elephant is big and powerful against the sky, the grass brings a wild feel. The low African light is nice and cool bringing out all the details on her skin. I love the high tide mark from a nearby pool and the holes in her ear.

Beautiful African elephant and baby. This photo has lovely tones and colours but lacks a little spark to take it through.

Another high ISO shot, the grainy effect bringing atmosphere to this hunt. It looks like a mother lioness and her two sons, in any case it is an incredible scene to witness, the look on that warthog’s face sums up its desperate situation pretty well. Great action and rare encounter, well done.

I hope you got away! This black bear looks like he means business. Great shot and you have done well composing this so well under such a nerve wrenching situation, you have captured enough of the wild forest atmosphere to represent the bear’s habitat but have kept all of our attention on bear himself and his piercing glare. Scary and stunning.

This is a nice action shot. The zebras look very alert as they cross this fast flowing river. You have done pretty well looking against the light, you were lucky perhaps that the sun wasn’t shining. The surface of the water is very crisp, giving it its force, which of course comes from your fast shutter. I imagine this happened pretty quickly so you have done well framing a little of both banks and getting the zebras nice and sharp.

If you can see me, I can see you… This is an amusing shot of this buck with his new velvet antlers. The shades of green are lovely and the deer cuts a good silhouette against the all green background. Luckily we can see his eye, that makes the picture. I guess he has a similar view of you.